Allawai survives assassination bid
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said an attempt was made on his life today during a visit to a Shiite holy city in southern Iraq.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, said about 60 men armed with pistol, knives and swords planned to attack him.
He said the attempt was made while he was performing prayers at the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of the Shiites holiest in Iraq. He said Shiite clerics invited him to the city.
“They were planning to kill the whole delegation, or at least me,” Allawi said after he arrived back in Baghdad. “One of them took out his pistol, but he panicked and it fell from his hand.”
Earlier, police said about a dozen people, some carrying clubs, tried to prevent Allawi from entering the shrine.
Footage shown on television stations showed Allawi running from the shrine as shoes and stones were thrown at him.
“As I was praying, a group of 60 or 70 people, wearing black uniforms, and carrying swords and pistols moved toward us as they chanted slogans against us. It became clear that it was an assassination attempt similar to what happened to cleric Abdul-Majid al-Khoei,” Allawi said.
He was referring to the April 2003 slaying of Shiite cleric al-Khoei by followers of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Allawi said least seven bullets were fired from the crowd.
In August 2004, when Allawi was prime minister, Iraqi and US troops took over Najaf from al-Sadr’s followers after heavy fighting. Many Shiites have not forgiven Allawi for his role in the assault.
